The Wealth of the Bottom 40% is not visible on this chart although it was drawn.

A Closer Look

The Top 10% own 68.2% of America’s Wealth. The Capitalism of America was built on the notion of a strong Middle-Class. Since 1981 Tickle-Down Economics has all but destroyed America’s Middle-Class. Cold Warrior Novelist Tom Clancy was reported to have said that, “You don’t count unless you make more than $250,000 a year.”

“Throughout history, Adam Smith observed, we find the workings of “the vile maxim of the masters of mankind”: “All for ourselves, and nothing for other People.” He had few illusions about the consequences. The invisible hand, he wrote, will destroy the possibility of a decent human existence “unless government takes pains to prevent” this outcome, as must be assured in “every improved and civilized society.” It will destroy community, the environment and human values generally — and even the masters themselves, which is why the business classes have regularly called for state intervention to protect them from market forces.” Noam Chomsky